This past Christmas, my daughter gave me a "Topsy-Turvy" hanging planter. Like most gifts I get , If it doesn't have an electric motor and cuts something, I'm not interested. I know that's wrong but somehow it just feels like another "tie". I put it aside until this spring (last week) when my daughter asked me if I had any intention of using my "topsy-turvy" planter. Well I don't do regular gardening anymore but I do container gardening. Well here I am out of containers except for my "topsy-turvy". So what the heck, I said, "yes honey, I was just about to put it together". And I did. And I'm glad I did because it made both of us happy. I must say, it is a bit unconventional but guess what, this thing has alot of potential. It's about 10" round and about 24" long, gets filled in three sections with growing medium (seperated by 1/4" thick foam disks and the diameter of the container). The bottom, where the plant goes, is a 1" thick by maybe 3" diameter foam disk with a slit in it for the plant to slide through. The claim is, you can plant just about any type of viney plant, upside down. I used it to plant a "beefmaster" tomato and so far so good. The plant already turned itself upward in one week and looks very healthy. I think I should post a picture of it 'cause I'm very impressed by this newfangled container.
I called my daughter to take a look at her "gift" and I was rewarded by her big beautiful smile. That actually made my day.
Needless to say, I'll think twice about putting aside any more "tie" gifts. At least from my daughter!LOL
hanging containers
I have no idea what you're talking about, so I think you should post a picture. Are we a hanging planter, somehow? Does the plant grow through the foam? I'm asking because there's a thread in which the people are getting ready to order something similar from Japan.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/596241/
xxxxxxx,
Carrie
This message was edited May 7, 2006 7:22 PM
Hi Carrie, sorry I took so long. Check these pictures out, and as you can see it's nothing like the one being ordered from Japan. I keep forgetting to ask my daughter as to where she got it and how much. As soon as she comes home tonight I'll ask her and post the info.
...and here's the other pic.
Sal
OK, here it is. www.topsyturvys.com .
I saw something similar, but more ornamental. The pot may have been glazed clay. They called it a Down-Under Pot. Not sure if I like these upside-down containers. Looks very strange.
found it even cheaper at www.harborfreight.com
I find that it has alot of potential. You can put slits on the sides and plant herbs or flowers. I'm going to try that next. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Roose, you might want to be careful with the beefmaster, the heavy fruit + gravity can drag the branches toward the ground. (If you do a search for "upside down" planter in the tomato forum, you'll see lots of entries).
But right now, I have 2 cherry sized tomato plants going in a Down Under pot, and I already have fruit, it's so exciting! (Yellow pear and sugary)
I love my Down Under pots, they're gorgeous, I get so many compliments on them, and you can get them fairly cheaply here in Alabama. I don't anticipate getting a big harvest, but I'm primarily growing the tomatoes for ornamental purposes -- they complement my huge flower baskets.
But otherwise, if you're interested in growing tomatoes upside down, lots of people have picutres and directions up in the Tomato forum. Primarily, people are growing them in 5-10 gallon paint buckets. (Drill a hole at the bottom, stick plant in, hang up via handle.)
I've done the Topsey Turvey last year and I was amazed. I grew a large tomato plant in it, and it worked as advertised. But be warned you must secure it with something that can take a lot of weight. If you growing tomatoes you'll need to water it very often.
Thanks Iam and siggy, for the heads-up. It does sound very exciting. So far we haven't had very good weather and growth has been very slow. I guess I'll be building some kind of structure on my deck to hold the hangers. The reason this is appealing to me is that I'm very limited with space and I think this method can be very attractive. I'll keep you posted with some pics once I have something built.
Thanks again
Sal